For the past six year that I’ve owned an iPhone, not once have I thought about buying a dock. What’s the point? You’ve got your cable right there anyway, and unless it adds some great functionality to the iPhone, I’ve never seen much point in them. But the Projectone from Karas Kustoms has changed my opinion on the usefulness of iPhone docks.

The Projectone is a machined aluminum dock for your iPhone 5 that passively amplifies sound like a megaphone. Its simplistic style and industrial stylings make it one of the best-looking iPhone docks we’ve seen in a while, but is it actually worth its $45 price tag?

The Good

Sound pumps through these two holes and into the acoustic chamber

Like most of the products we’ve seen from the Karas Kustoms’ garage, the Projectone features a distinctive industrial design that feels like something you could have bought straight from a steel plant in the 1940s. Its machined aluminum body matches very nicely with the brushed aluminium that Apple uses on its Macs and MacBooks.

The Projectone doesn’t look like something Apple would make, but the overall design of this boxy iPhone dock makes it unique and useful. Everything about the dock has been very thought out, from the little rubber feet that keep your desk from getting scratched up, to the simple thumbscrew that keeps your Lightning cable secure.

There are four different finishes to choose from, but I’m partial to the Tumbled Raw Aluminum model because it looks more vintage-ish. Every person that’s stopped by my apartment has asked where I got “that neat little iPhone box.”

Because it’s practically just a small block of metal, the Projectone is pretty heavy, but that’s a good thing. The extra weight means your iPhone is easier to pull off the dock, plus you can always use it as a paperweight or lethal weapon if you’re in a bind.

Sound amplification on the Projectone is pretty solid. Even though the Projectone doesn’t have an electric amplifier, it still gets the job done. Music is noticeably louder when an iPhone is docked on the Projectone, but it’s nothing that will blow you away. It can’t out blast some small speakers, but it will produce enough sound to keep you happy at your desk throughout the day.

Because the Projectone doesn’t have its own power supply or Lightning cable, users will have to provide their own. Setup is super easy and takes just a few seconds, and after using the Projectone for a few days I realized that having and iPhone dock on my desk helps reduce my desk clutter by keeping cables out of sight and out of mind.

The Bad

Rubber nubs on the bottom save your desk from scratches

It’s hard to find complaints about the Projectone. The metal holes in the front grill could probably be made bigger to let more sound through, but it does a decent enough job. Another bummer is that the Projectone only works with the iPhone 5 or other Lightning capable devices, and it doesn’t have an adjustable viewing angle for your iPhone.

For being such a simple device the price on the Projectone might be a little bit too high, but when you consider top iPhone docks like the Elevation Dock are nearly twice as much and don’t amplify your sound, it seems like you’re getting a decent deal.

The Verdict

The Projectone does exactly what it’s supposed to do and nothing extra. It will charge up your iPhone and amplify your music at the same time. We might not agree on the price, but the awesome design and simplicity of the Projectone make it one of the best iPhone docks we’ve tried.

Before I used the Projectone I thought iPhone docks were more of a frivolous accessory, but the simplicity of the Projectone helped me see how useful it is to have a dedicated station for your iPhone and my charging cables have finally gotten more organized.